


Path of the Clavat (FFCC Fanfiction)

by TheMoogle



Category: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mutual Pining, Possessive Behavior, Protectiveness, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smut, Trauma, Unrequited, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27222409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMoogle/pseuds/TheMoogle
Summary: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Fanfiction (FFCC) that follows the journey of a Clavat farmer as she leaves her hometown Tipa for the first time to join the crystal caravan.
Relationships: Original Clavat Character(s)/Original Clavat Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

I stared at the moonlit sky from the open window in my room. A breeze of cold air brushed against my cheeks, leaving me shivering right across my arms with the hairs of my arm standing up.

I couldn't sleep at all last night, given that I found out I was going to be joining the crystal caravan as of yesterday.

Am I really ready for this? This whole time, I thought I would be working the fields and making a living selling wheat. Oh, how wrong I was! Now, I'm going to be starting a new adventure to collect some myrrh from the world beyond.

I turned back to my drawer, which had a long, dark dress and an autumn-colored stole on top. I put them both on and combed through my hair, making sure that it was neat and tidy.

"Ania! How long are you going to keep the caravan waiting!?" a loud voice grumbled.

The caravan? I was pretty sure I'd be travelling my myself, I thought. Just yesterday, it was just my belongings in the caravan, nobody else's.

SLAM! The wooden door swung wide open, from which I swear that the doorknob nearly broke into the wall. Lo and behold, it was my mom.

"How long are you going to keep them waiting, now?" my mom scolded me. "Come downstairs. Don't keep him waiting longer than he has to wait."

"I'll be right there!" I pulled my tights on and ran over and rushed down the stairs.

When I got downstairs, I saw that there was nobody around. It was empty. Nil. A ghost-town. Aside from a small fly that was flying near some gourd potato, the house was empty. 

"Where is everyone?" I asked in confusion.

"Looks like somebody missed a spot when combing her hair today," A voice pointed out from behind me. Out of embarrassment, I patted down my hair. I turned around to figure out who decided to be so rude this early in the morning.

"Huh...? Ack!" I jumped back and nearly felt my soul fly out of my chest when I discovered that a certain person was standing there, watching me.

A man with auburn hair and an armored headband winked at me, accompanied with a coy grin plastered right across his face. It was Zeke, one of the villagers who just happened to always be nearby at the most inconvenient times. Honestly, I barely ever see the guy around the village. It's only been as of recent that we would work together for our jobs, but that's about it. Still, I don't like where this situation is going...

"How did you get inside my house?!" I blurted out impatiently. Did I miss out on delivering the wheat? No, that's impossible. My little brother was going to be taking care of that role very soon, and my dad said he would be taking over most of the farming duties while I'd be on caravan duty. Maybe he came to tell me that he poisoned the bannock that he made me from the other day? No, that's not it either! I would be dead by now if that were the case. So then, why is this guy here this early in the morning?

"Your mom let me in. She said you were still asleep, so I was hoping to wake you up myself. It looks like I was too late," Zeke explained as he scratched the back of his neck. He was dressed a little differently than usual. For some reason, he was wearing a carrot-colored vest and some striped shorts on top of his usual clothes. His black sleeves hung low with the cuffs just barely covering the tips of his fingers.

"You're the last person I wanted to see this morning, especially like this," I sighed. I was pretty sure I had another cowlick that I forgot to comb, but at this point, does it even matter?

"Hey, that's cold!" Zeke whimpered and crossed his arms. "You could be a little nicer to your partner, you know." He made a pouting face that only he would ever make.

"My what?"

"Really? You haven't heard yet? What, do you live under a rock or something? We're going to be travelling together."

"HUH?!"

"He's right, honey. Ar Leta and Ral Ji both took a break this year because of some injuries. You two will be travelling together in their stead. You better take care of each other, alright?" my mom elaborated.

My dad came into the kitchen too. "I second that. I know you're a big girl now. Oh, that reminds me. I have a present for you." He headed to another room and brought back what looked like a copper sword in one hand, and a shield in the other. "I was hoping I would never have to give them to you or Cindy, but you happened to be chosen for the crystal caravan..."

"It's okay, I'll be careful," I assured them.

He turned his head to the other to-be caravanner. "Zeke," he commanded in a stern voice.

"Y-Yeah... Yes?" His back straightened right up when my dad called out to him.

"Ania better back alive..." He moved closer to him and whispered something into his ear. Zeke immediately backed off into the corner.

"O-Of course, of course..." he whimpered.

"Good."

"Don't forget to collect wheat seeds on your journey, Ania!" My older sister Cindy added.

"Write us letters too!" My brother commented.

"Okay, okay! I won't forget, don't worry!" I reassured them.

"Well, anyway, take care out there! We're going to go get some work done out in the field now."

My family headed out of the house to tend to the field. Looking back at Zeke, he was still standing immobilized in the corner with his head hanging low and his arms crossed. His face was completely colorless and frozen in fear. I'm kind of curious to know what my dad said to him. It must've real bad.

"Hey, um, you okay? You've been standing there for a while now," I commented.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just fine," he groaned. "Let's just go..."

We left my house, only to be greeted to a clear blue sky and a luscious green striped apple tree off to the side. The tree bore some striped apples just a few weeks ago, but we've eaten them most of them by now. I had some apples that I saved for later, so I packed the up the rest for the road ahead.

Adjacent to us was a recently sown wheat field. My family waved at me from afar.

My family is made up of farmers, so we've been farming wheat for years. Meanwhile, Zeke comes from a miller family, so all our wheat that we produce goes to his family. Ever since Zeke came back from caravan duty, I would be the one delivering the wheat to him for producing flour.

I looked back at Zeke, who, from my peripheral vision, seemed to be staring right at me. He had a serious but blank expression. The corners of his mouth were hanging low on his face, and his eyebrows were scrunched up. As soon as my eyes met his, he broke the gaze and walked over in the direction of the crystal. "Shouldn't we head to the village square?" He muttered hesitantly.

"Oh, right, sorry," I apologized.

We headed to the crystal at the very middle of the village. Roland, the village patriarch, was standing just in front of the village's crystal. "Looks like our caravanners are ready. You both have a long road ahead of you," he smiled.

"Is it really true that I'll be travelling with Zeke?" I asked him.

"That's correct. Now come, I'll show you the crystal chalice." On the rock was an oddly shaped cup with a turquoise crystal embedded to the top. It looked like it has been through a lot of adventures. The village patriarch passed me the chalice. "This is the chalice you will use to collect myrrh. Remember, this whole village rests on your shoulders, so be careful out there."

We headed off towards the entrance, to where the papaopamus and the cart of the caravan awaited us. I already packed many of my belongings inside last night, so it was merely a matter of heading off.

I checked the inside of the cart to make sure that everything was in its place. To my surprise, there were loads and loads of bannock pieces stacked on top of each other inside a woven basket. The aroma wafted through my nose -- they likely were baked recently. As my eyes scanned the rest of the cart, my eye caught hold of a sheathed sword and shield were neatly placed to the side beside some pillows.

"You really didn't leave me all that much space, Ania," Zeke commented.

"I thought I would be travelling alone!"

"Aww, you really hate my guts, don't you? Well, too bad!" He made a raspberry face right at me. I groaned at his teasing.

I looked at the rest of the caravan to make sure that all of my belongings were still in their place. On the other side opposite of the sword and shield, there were some striped apples that lined the inside of another basket. Those apples were the ones I brought for the journey. I was sure it'd be a while until I'd see another town, so I figured I'd bring some for the road.

I got outside of the caravan, and Zeke was sitting just on the edge in front of the papaopamus. "Ready to head out now?" he asked.

"Zeke!!" A shrill voice called from afar.

"Lovely."

Some huffing and puffing came from the direction of the village. Looking back, it was his mother, Sharon. "Oh, it's good to see you, Ania. I forgot to give Zeke some paper and a pen to write letters with."

"Mom, don't worry, I packed enough paper," he assured her, but she didn't seem to be having it.

"I want to know everything that happens, so you're going to need all the paper you can get," she asserted. A thick pile of unused paper were in between her hands. That would have probably lasted at least five years!

"Mom, you're embarrassing me..." His face was flushed with a rosy blush. "You can do this at home, but not here."

"I'd rather embarrass you now than find out you haven't been writing us letters because you forgot to bring paper from home. Anyway, take care, you two!"


	2. Meeting a Certain Someone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (First Year) After going through River Belle, we ended up collecting our first drop of myrrh. While Zeke was at the front of the caravan leading the papaopamus, I was lying down in the caravan.

"Hey Zeke, maybe we should take a break. We just got the myrrh from River Belle... I'm feeling really tired," I commented.

"We should probably try to at least pass the miasma stream first and get to Marr's Pass."

"Marr's Pass? Where's that?"

"It's just a small village that's at the crossroads that leads to Iron Mine Downs. They say that it used to be a major part of the Lilty empire, but now it's a quiet village. They do have some blacksmiths that we could look into."

"Wow, you seem to know a lot about those places, huh."

Zeke scratched his face. "It's more that Leon would tell me those sorts of things when going to these places."

"I see..."

"Nevermind all of that," Zeke sighed.

In the distance, there was a scantily clad man wearing a striped bandana and some very suggestive pants that were cut open on the sides where you could see his bare legs. I couldn't help but ogle his whole outfit. It sure was creative. Judging by his looks, he definitely gave me some strong Selkie vibes.

"Hey, Zeke, I think that guy over there needs some help," I suggested.

"Ania, don't you realize who that--"

"Oh, hello there," the Selkie man spoke.

"Hello..." heat rose to my face as I looked at his chest. He was incredibly fit, complete with a perfectly chiseled abdomen and some nice string attachments to compliment his bare skin. On his arms, he had these perfectly placed tattoos, along with a fancy looking ribbon on each arm. It really helped define his muscles.

"What do you want from us?" Zeke asked. His hand was clenched up into a fist. For whatever reason, he sure seemed hostile. Does he know this person? Regardless, he seems to be in trouble here.

"Zeke, we should hear him out. He seems like he's had some trouble."

"Thank you, Miss. You're right, my papaopamus's leg was hurt. I was wondering if you could spare some bannock, or perhaps some flour if you don't have that?"

"No--"

"Absolutely! I have some bannock right here in our caravan."

"Wait, stop, that's my--" Zeke protested, but by the time he was able to react, I already passed a loaf of bannock to him.

"Wow, thank you so much. I'll never forget this. My name is Bal Dat, by the way."

"I'm Ania, and this is Zeke right here. It's a pleasure to meet you! I apologize for his brashness. He's not usually like this. He's actually a very sweet and caring guy once you get to know him!"

"Uh-huh..." Bal Dat nodded his head, looking at him. Zeke had his arms crossed during the entire meeting.

"Hey you, where's your crystal chalice?" he snapped.

"His name is Bal Dat, Zeke!"

"Yeah, and soon you'll be handing him all the bannock I made, right?"

"You're jumping to conclusions now!" I retorted.

"Uh, to answer your other question, I'm not a caravanner. I'm just a traveler. You see here, I use a portable crystal," Bal Dat replied, pointing to a crystal on his bandana.

"That's just asking for trouble..." Zeke muttered to himself. Bal Dat glared right at him.

"Zeke!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, OOPS! Did I say that out loud? I'm soooo sorry!" he rolled his eyes at me.

"Anyway, I should get going. Thanks for the bannock!" Bal smiled.

I felt my heart flutter for a second seeing him making a amicable expression. My knees felt a little weak. Out of nowhere, I blurted out, "Wait a second, why don't we eat together? We have plenty of bannock in our caravan." Zeke put a hand to his hand, shaking his head with disapproval.

"No thanks, I really should get going. You take care of yourself, okay? You wouldn't want anyone stealing any of your treasure," Bal Dat commented while tending to the papaopamus's leg. We headed off towards the miasma stream. I couldn't help but look back and notice that someone else was with Bal Dat.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

When we were nearing the miasma stream, Zeke tapped on my shoulder. "So that's your type, eh? I had no idea you'd be into guys like him."

"N-No it isn't!!" I denied outright, but I knew he was right. I always did find myself a little bit attracted to redheads.

"Okay, well that's a relief, because that guy is known for his schemes, and you don't want to get yourself into one of those."

"Schemes...?" I asked, with curiosity.

"Nevermind... we got lucky this time. It seems that the rest of his crew didn't get anywhere near the caravan."


	3. End of the First Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (First Year) We arrive back home to Tipa after a full year. It was finally time to celebrate the myrrh festival!

"Well, we finally made it back in one piece, eh, Ania?" Zeke looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah..." I replied, with a tinge of exhaustion.

Roland, the village elder approached us. "Welcome back, Zeke and Ania. Looks like the chalice has been filled this year. You should head back to your homes to get ready for the celebration."

Roland took the chalice off of our hands.

"I'm going to go talk to my family. You'd better not ditch the festival, you hear that, Ania?"

"Of course not! What gives you the impression that I'd do that?!"

"Oh, you know, lots of things. Seriously, you should probably take a nap or something. You don't look too good."

"Thanks..."

\---------------

As soon as Roland renewed Tipa's crystal, we all stood in awe at how brightly it shined.

Everyone in the village was getting themselves ready to dance and have lots of fun. I was sitting at a rock in the corner, feeling exhausted. As soon as I came home, Dad made me help with plowing the wheat fields. My legs felt so sore I could barely stand.

"Celebration, my ass," I muttered to myself.

"Hey, Ania, you doing okay there?" a voice asked. It was Zeke.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just feeling a little exhausted is all."

"Hm, would you want to celebrate with some drinks? We are both of age to drink this year, after all."

"No, I think I'll be okay. I just need to catch my breath."

"Hm, alright then."

"Hey, Zeke!" a Selkie woman called out to him. She was accompanied by another Selkie guy. 

"Oh, Ar Leta, what are you doing around here?"

"What do you think I'm doing? It's a celebration! Come on, let's dance. I'll show you a move or two that Selkies do." She pulled him by the arm, and Zeke gave me a pleading look. 

I was still feeling awfully sluggish, and I don't do too well with parties, so I slipped out of the village square and headed back home. Good thing my family didn't notice, or else I would've been in serious trouble with them!

I retreated back to my bedroom, and flopped right down on the neatly bed as soon as I got there. My eyes would occasionally shut themselves from time to time, but as I tried and tried to doze off, I just couldn't sleep. The noise from outside from the celebration didn't help much.

Walking to the window, I noticed a familiar figure outside.

I ran right out of my house, hoping to catch a better glimpse of the person. But right before I was able to reach him, there was a rock below my foot that I happened to trip over, which scraped my knees.

A shadow appeared right over me. "What are you doing out here, Clavat?"

I looked up. Striped pants. No shirt. This person is exactly who I think it is.

"That's what I should be asking you!" I grumbled from the ground.

"I'm going already. I got my fill of striped apples."

"You were eating from my tree?!"

"Who said it was your tree? Does it have your name on it? I don't see any names on it."

"Hey, give back those striped apples! My family loves them a lot."

"I like them too. They're the reason why we're called the Striped Brigands, anyway. Tell your parents that your tree's apples are delicious. See ya!"

"Hey, wait just a minute!" I called out to him, but by then, he ran right off.

Considering that I couldn't really sleep, I thought I could go back to the festival, but I didn't really want to be sitting around, alone.

Ah, whatever. I went back over to the celebration area and saw Zeke dancing with two other Selkies. One was Ar Leta, the girl I saw earlier, and the other one looked like Ryo Jih. They looked like they were having lots of fun, but I didn't know how I would jump in. I felt like it would be too awkward if I did pop by. As sad as it may sound, whenever we had festivals before, I would usually slip right out. I really don't like parties and loud noises all that much.

Just like that, I figured I'd just head back home again. That time, the front of the house was clear of any thieves.


	4. Struggle at Daemon's Court

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the end of our third year. We had just finished collecting myrrh from Selepation Cave, which is just opposite of the Field of Fum. I insisted that we would stay in the Field of Fum for a little while before we ventured out some more, but Zeke wanted to push through and collect the third drop of myrrh for the year.

"Alright, that's the last key stone, I think," Zeke commented.

"Seems so, we should probably get that last drop of myrrh and get out of here," I replied.

"You ready?" he asked while grabbing the crystal chalice.

"Ready... not so much ready, but we've made it this far already," I waved my sword at the door prompting Zeke to be prepared. "Let's do this!"

We entered inside with resolution. As soon as we walked outside, I noticed that there were numerous little flags surrounding the interior along with some small lamps all around. Opposite of us was an enormous metal gate. It was just a guess, but it was likely that the myrrh tree was on the other side.

"Crap, those can't be--" Zeke pointed out a coeurl that emerged that emerged from one side of the coliseum. Something appeared in the corner of my eye-- no, it couldn't be! There was a second one too!

"We're surrounded!" I exclaimed. The coeurls surrounded us, like cats that were about to poach a mouse.

"Don't worry, we just need to dodge their magic, right? We'll be fi--"

The giant gate that was probably holding the myrrh tree swung wide open. A dark shadow was forming. Whatever it was, it was huge! It looked a lot like the lizardmen we were fighting up until now, but on one hand, he had a crossbow, and the other hand, it looked like some sort of spear. Both coeurls ran over to the gate to join the colossal monster.

Both coeurls ran over to the gate to join the colossal monster   
"That's..." I stared at the monster with absolute fear. I've read up about it back home. This must have been the Lizardman King. "This isn't looking good at all!" My voice sounded shaky.

"No shit! Come on, we need to kill off the coeurls."

Like Zeke said, I went for one of the coeurls and aimed for its chest. The magic that it was casting stopped, and then some blue light formed underneath my feet.

"Watch out!" I felt a push from my side, and fell right to the ground. Zeke was hit by the blizzard, from the looks of it.

"No, Zeke!"

"Come on, it's just a little cold. I'll be fine."

"But--"

"Oh do you have feel-- ACK!" He was hit square in the back by the lizardman king. I held my sword and casted cure with the magicite I had on hand. I then charged right at the coeurl that was behind the lizardman, and slashed at it from an opening. Shing! The coeurl couldn't seem to get up after a fatal blow.

"Alright, one more!" I chanted after I saw the other coeurl that was just about to cast thunder. "No, you don't!" A clean hit!

"Good job, Ania!" Zeke encouraged from the sidelines. "Seems like we just have the lizardman king."

The monster seemed occupied by Zeke. From the looks of it, he was trying to attack Zeke with a spear that came out of its right arm. He seemed to be handing himself well against the monster. While he was distracting it, I focused my energy, and went in for a clean hit right against the lizardman's tail. The monster flinched, leaving us another opening to land a few more blows.

"This isn't looking too good. There doesn't seem to be an end to them..." Zeke commented while looking at the side entrance, where another coeurl appeared. From my peripheral view, there was also a skirmisher that I didn't catch before. "You see it too, right? We need to be quick!"

"Easier said than done... Maybe we can use those switches to our advantage!" I pointed out the red switch that was situated close to the gate.

He looked at the switch, and then looked right back at me. "Are you crazy?! We don't have a clue what those switches even do!" he yelled.

"We might as well try," I encouraged him.

He ran over to the switch, and a giant blade came right out of the ground, and it was making its way over to the King. "Hey, I think you're right. It's actually working!" As he was talking, the Lizardman King shot out some arrows out of its arm right at Zeke.

"DUCK!" I called out to Zeke. The lizardman king obstructed my view, so I couldn't see him from where I was.

I heard a voice coming from the other side. "Ania, let's cast Blizzara!"

"One... two... three... GO!" We both exclaimed at the same time. It seemed to have worked! The Lizardman King fell right to the ground. The coeurls and skirmisher also ran off when they saw that their king had fallen.

I looked back to Zeke. "That was amazing, Zeke! ...Huh!?"

"Ack!... Ow... Ow... Goddammit!" He keeled right over, clutching his arm. There was an arrow that was pierced right through his forearm.

"I'll cast cure..."

"That won't be enough. I think that... thing... broke my arm," he panted. "Let's just go and get the drop of myrrh and go home."

"If you say so..."

We walked over to the myrrh tree. On our way there, I noticed that Zeke was limping oddly. Did he also hurt his leg...?

As soon as we reached the myrrh tree, I quickly put the chalice underneath the tree   
As soon as we reached the myrrh tree, I quickly put the chalice underneath the tree. Zeke was still struggling with his arm. He was grimacing and biting his lip a lot. When we were just about to leave the room with the myrrh tree, he collapsed onto the dirt. I grabbed the full chalice and headed over to him, ensuring that I didn't spill any myrrh.

"Damn it," He grunted.

"Here, I can lend my shoulder." I kneeled beside him on his unaffected side, and he took up my offer.

"Thanks..."

We headed back to the entrance to find our papaopamus was guarding the wagon for the caravan. From the looks of it, the curtains were left exactly how I tied them before we left, so no thieves made off with any loot, fortunately.

"Hey, I can steer the papaopamus for us," Zeke suggested.

With the condition of his arm, I couldn't help but decline. "We need to get to the closest town as soon as possible."

"Why? We have a full chalice. We should head back to Tipa."

"Absolutely not! We're going to the Field of Fum right away."

He smiled. It caught me completely off-guard. "What?" I asked, with seriousness.

"It's... it's nothing. Let's go."


	5. Doctor in Fum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Third Year) It was the end of the third year, and we just got out of Selepation Cave. We just barely made it to the Field of Fum. As soon as we made it, Zeke got out of the caravan, just barely limping with his good leg.

"Oh my!" The village elder exclaimed when he saw Zeke's poor condition. "What happened to you?!"

"It's fine, I'll--"

"Here, we'll take you to our doctor right away," the village elder insisted. We followed behind him to a small house on the corner of the area. As we entered the house, it had a distinct scent of wood mixed with the aroma of recently baked bannock. As the scent slipped past my nose, I started to notice my hunger.

I looked to Zeke, who was already sitting down on a wooden chair in the living room.

"The doctor will be with you shortly," the elder reassured us.

As soon as he left, Zeke's nose scrunched up, and his eyebrows furrowed. Sure, it would cost a lot of money since he isn't getting treated at home, but I'd rather he got patched up as soon as possible than to grin and bear it for a while until we reached Tipa.

\--------

An hour or so later, a doctor emerged from the room that the doctor examined Zeke in. I knocked at the door. "Can I come in?"

I heard a loud groan come from the other side of the door. "Fine."

Zeke was sitting down on the bed with his shirt off, and some bandages wrapped around the chest. "Jeez, the Lizardman must've gotten you really good if you've been bandaged up like that," I commented.

"No kidding," he scoffed. My eyes moved to the pen he was holding. From the looks of it, he was trying to write a letter with his left hand, but wasn't doing too well with it.

"Feeling any better?" I asked.

He looked away hesitantly while clutching his bandaged arm. "Fine."

Zeke cursed something beneath his breath. "This is impossible," he grumbled. Zeke proceeded to scrunch up the paper in his non-dominant hand, and throw it to the side of the bed. He sighed and bit his lip, aiming to hold the pen again. It fell on the bed, along with some of the ink that was still on it. "That's just lovely."

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"Of course I'm not fine!" he hissed.

"Look at me. I'm useless now. I can't even write a simple letter to my mom like this. I can't write letters, let alone fight. I doubt I'll be able to travelling for next year at this rate. I'm pretty sure it's over by now." He scrunched up his hand in the ink-ridden bed sheets.

"Zeke..."

"What?!"

His angry tone caught me completely off-guard. I moved a bit further back after I realized that me might need some more space.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Man, it's just one embarrassment after another."

"If you'd like, I can write the letter for you."

His eyes lit up immediately. "You... you would do that?"

"It shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? Just tell me what to write, and I'll put it on paper," I suggested to him.

"Alright, thank you, Ania. so please write this... Dear Mom, I am doing well. No, I am not getting caught up with some strange girl, unless you're referring to Ania."

"Hey, that's not how you start off a letter! Kind of rude, don't you think?" I hissed.

The corners of his lips moved up just a bit. He let out an amicable laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"No, it's nothing," he replied. "I bet you'd love to read the letter that my mom sent me. She talks about bringing home some strange girl, whatever that means. You know how mothers can work sometimes. Your own mom wrote up a similar letter a while back. I wonder if they all just come up with ideas for what to write in the letters during village meetings."

"Oookay..."

"Anyway, just keep writing. Could you also add: 'I'll be coming home soon, so don't worry too much about me?' into the message? Thanks."

"Got it," I put down the pen and passed him the letter.

"Perfect." He took the letter, and looked outside.

There was a moogle right on the windowsill that I haven't noticed until now. It flew right at us. "Kupo!" He took the letter in his mouth and flew right off.

"Aw crap, I forgot to check my letter!" I whined in disappointment.

"It's fine, we're heading back soon anyway. I think we should head back over to Tipa soon. They're all awaiting our return, so we shouldn't keep them waiting."

"Yeah."

After that night, we headed back onto the road, making our way back towards Tipa.


	6. The Yuke Fisherman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Third Year) It was the end of the third year collecting myrrh, and Zeke saw the doctor back at the Field of Fum. The scent of bannock filled my nose as the papaopamus' small legs made it over to Tipa. I opened the curtains to the front of the caravan. Zeke seemed to have fallen asleep. I gently rubbed his shoulder, making sure it was the unaffected arm. "Zeke..."

"Huh? Are we already at Tipa?"

"Yep."

"So we're finally home..."

Julia, Zeke's mother, was standing right in front of the merchant's house when she caught a glimpse of our returning caravan. "Oh, you're back! Oh my--" As Zeke got out of the caravan, he just barely stumbled and fell. I was standing next to him, so I caught him in time. "What happened to you, my baby?!" she shrieked.

"Just a scratch," he grimaced, trying to hold onto me for dear life.

"There's no way this is just a scratch, Ezekiel! You're coming straight with me!" We knew things were serious when she used that name with him. He was pulled to his home. Meanwhile, it seemed that Roland already knew that we were coming home, since he stood by and pet the papaopamus' ears.

"Ania, I see you brought home another filled chalice for us this year. Excellent. You should head back to your house to get ready for the celebration, and I can take care of the chalice."

"Thank you," I bowed, and he took care of the caravan while I headed back home. On my way there, I stared up at Zeke's house, which was just across from the merchant's house. Zeke's brother, Welsh, approached me. "Oh, hey Ania. Do you know what happened to him? He looked all bandaged up." Welsh had a very static, mask-like demeanor on his face today.

"Yeah, we had a bit of an incident at Daemon's Court just before collecting the last drop of myrrh."

"I see," he muttered. "Do you think he'll be able to go back to the caravan?"

"...I don't know..."

"I see. Well, sorry for bothering you. You're probably feeling exhausted. Davia baked some bannock recently, if you want some."

I shook my head. "No, it's alright. You should save it for Zeke. You know how much he loves bannock."

"You're right. I'll see you at the celebration, Ania."

"I'll see you later then."

\--------

In a few hours, all of the villagers would be gathered for the biggest celebration every year -- the myrrh festival. In the mean time, I washed my clothes by the river stream that's just outside Tipa. I figured that I could at least have fresh clothes in time for the festival. When I was scrubbing the clothes, I thought I heard some rustling nearby. "Could that be Zeke?" I thought to myself.

"Hello," a serious voice spoke up from afar. I turned around, and jumped in place. The person who was talking to me was a Yuke. Not just any Yuke - he had purple arms and legs, just like that moogle, Artemicion.

"Wh-Where did you come from?!" I shouted.

"I live here. I thought I might introduce myself to you. My name is Renselus, but you can call me Ren for short."

"O-Okay... Ren..."

"So I hear your name is Ania, is that right?" he asked. Ren brought his arms into an introspective pose, hand at the chin... er... helmet.

"That's right."

"I see. It looks like I'll be travelling with you for the upcoming year then."

"Wait, so it's not going to be just me and Zeke?"

"I saw Zeke when you two arrived, and I doubt he would be able to fight, let alone walk. Not a worry, though. I've been learning how to cast magic since I was young," he commented. I was going to ask him how old he is, but I figured that would've been kind of rude.

I looked at what he was holding in his arm. It seemed to be a fishing rod and a bag of something. Maybe it's bait? Do Yukes even eat fish? Actually, do they eat at all? With all that thinking about eating, my stomach rumbled right on cue.

"Are you hungry? I heard that fairly loud and clear," he observed. 

"You heard it that easily, eh? I guess it has been a while since I've eaten," I admitted. After thinking about Zeke that whole trip home, I was so preoccupied with getting him home safely that I forgot to eat something on the way here.

"I could fish you something right now," he said as he attached some bait to his fishing rod and swung it into the river. "The river here has some really good tuna-- Oh! It seems that the bait is working!" He pulled on his line and got a silver fish right out the water.

"Whoa, that's amazing!"

"Here, I can cast some fire, and... Done!" Like that, the fish became a savory, delicious caramel color. The scent of the cooked food wafted right through my nose. I was becoming hungrier by the minute. "We could head back to my house, and I can prepare it on a plate for you."

"That works for me."

"Alright then, let us head off," he said. We went over to his house. I looked up, and I swear I saw someone watching us from a window.


	7. Underneath the Striped Apple Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Third Year) After I ate with Ren, the sun started to set, and I needed to get to the crystal for the ritual. By the time I arrived there, Ar Leta, Ral Ji and Zeke were already holding torches.

Zeke seemed to have been having trouble holding his torch upright with just one hand. Thinking to myself, should he really be here when he could be resting?

More families gathered, and soon, the village square was bustling with people. We all lifted our torches, and Roland waved his hand around, casting a spell on the crystal. Yet another year, and us caravanners made it back home to Tipa to recharge the crystal.

As soon as Roland recharged the crystal with myrrh, we everyone was ready to dance and play jovial music, well, except for me. I looked all around. Ar Leta and Ryo Jih were both having a great time, and so was Ren. No matter how much I looked around though, Zeke was nowhere to be found.

"Huh, that really is strange," I thought. "He'd normally be dancing this time around. I guess the injuries really were that bad." Weirdly enough, I saw his mother, father, and both his siblings dancing all around at the festival. It was just Zeke who was missing.

I figured he probably was at home resting, so I headed over to the miller's house.

...

I knocked on the door. No response. I knocked again. Still no response. Where did he go? I thought.

"Oh, there you are, Ania. I was looking for you," a voice whispered.

I turned around. A tall and stick-thin man with a golden mask greeted me. It was Renselus.

"I thought you were still at the celebration, what happened?"

"I saw that you left, so I followed after you. You seemed troubled."

"I'm sorry, but I need to find Zeke right now."

"Wait." something furry grabbed my hand. His furry hands were awfully soft. As soon as he touched me, I felt something warm blossom inside of me. We stood there for a minute like that.

Thinking for a second, why did I react like that? It must be my nerves being wacky or something. The grip of his hand lets go of mine.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

And then he let go and vanished somewhere.

Was that bad for me to hesitate like that?

Zeke, where could you be...? I thought to myself.

\---

After searching all around, I thought it was pointless to keep searching, so I headed back home. Just as I was about to head inside, there was somebody lying back underneath the striped apple tree. With a closer look, I noticed a familiar man with curtain-like hair falling over his face.

"Zeke?! What the hell..." I immediately got down to my knees and placed my hands on his shoulders. "What happened to you?!"

His eyes weren't opening up. My heart started to beat incessantly. My hands pressed over his chest to see if there was any movement or breathing.

"Whoa!!" a voice shouted in my ears.

"Huh...?" I fell right back, with my hands just barely catching my fall. The dirt from the ground got all over my behind. I moved forward and brushed it off with my hands. Zeke had a blank stare on his face. His eyes were wide open, looking directly at me.

"Oh, Ania... It's uhh, good to see you!" he smiled.

"What were you thinking, taking a nap in front of my house?! Especially in the middle of the night! You know, I've seen the striped brigands in our village before, and they sure as hell could've mugged you!"

"Aww, you were actually worried about me? What about your new Yuke friend, hmm?"

"Oh, that's right, I still need to introduce you to Ren."

"No, it's alright. I really don't want that. But speaking of which, could you press your hand to my chest like you did just now?"

I did as he said, and he used his good arm to readjust my hand towards his left side. His heart was pounding incessantly. He was staring me right into my eyes to the point where my own heart started beating quicker too. Zeke soon let go of my hand and placed his on the back of my neck. He started to inch closer and closer to my face. Thankfully it was dark, because otherwise, he would've seen how much of a mess I was.

"Interesting..."

As soon as I heard that voice, I backed away from Zeke like a deer caught in headlights. I would have screamed, but my voice just wouldn't allow it. Thank goodness, I probably saved myself from embarrassment.

"No, please, do go on!" Ren encouraged us, but I didn't buy it.

"Wait, but I thought you said you were going back to the festival! What happened?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was more interested in what was going on behind the scenes, that's all~" he snickered.

"Oh jeez... Well, I'm off," Zeke announced, just barely getting off the floor. But for some reason, his knees buckled down and he was back on the ground.

"No, I should be going. Toodles!" The Yuke trodded right off.

Zeke groaned to himself, still stuck to the floor like a fly on a flytrap.

"Need some help?" I offered while holding my hand out to him. He shook his head and used the tree to steady himself instead. Grasping one of the branches sticking out from the side, he was able to pull himself up.

"Wait, Zeke! Are you sure this is a--" as I was talking, he fell forward again. I was able to catch him this time.

"Ania..."

"Does it hurt? We should get you to bed. Come on, let's go," I took his good arm over my shoulder and helped him get back home.

"...Thank you."

We didn't speak at all on the way there. The whole thing with Renselus was awkward enough already, so I was happy to hear silence.

He and I eventually made it to his bedroom. Admittedly, I've never been inside his room, but I think it was similar to what I imagined it to be. It was a small bed and a little wooden table off to the side with a chair tucked in. There were some letters stacked on top of the table and some ink on the side.

"Thank you for helping me get back home," Zeke said.

"It was my pleasure. Anyway, I should head home. It's getting dark," I insisted.

He looked towards the window with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Would it be bad if I asked you to stay with me just a little while longer?" He asked. "Actually, never mind, that was selfish of me. You need to sleep for tomorrow, sorry about that."

His head was tilted down and off to one side. Hesitating, I shook my head. "No, it's alright. I could stay a little longer."

"Wait, you will?" his face lit up like a firefly at night.

"I don't think I want to leave you alone when you have an injury.

"Oh, I see. Well, thanks..."

I continued to stand by the door. "You know you can come closer, if you want."

"Sure," I sat right up on his bed beside him.

"What's with that look...?" I asked. His face was flushed in red when he adjusted his belt and front pouch.

"No, it's nothing. It's weird, because I never brought a woman into my room before."

"Ookay...?"

He pushed down on his pouch. "My god..."

"Seriously, is everything alright? You keep touching that pouch," I commented.

"Couldn't you be more subtle about it? Anyway, I need to do something before Welsh comes home. I know he's going to be here fairly soon."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Ugh, no... just let me get some time alone."

"Okay then. I think I'm going to go then."

I headed on out, closing the door behind me. I figured I could wait a little while longer. He might need me, so I looked around the hall for some time. There was a picture of his family on one of the drawers. There was also a smaller picture beside that one... it was a Selkie girl and a Clavat boy. The Selkie looked a little like Ar Leta, and the Clavat had light brown hair.

For a minute there, I heard some odd noises coming from the other side of the door. Was Zeke in pain, or something? I had to take a look.


	8. Warm, Cozy Night

I walked into the room, needing to know what was going on. Zeke might’ve been in pain, and there would be only one way to find out.

As soon as I entered the room, his eyes shot right at me. I couldn’t help but look at the cock that he was holding in his hand. I felt a pang of arousal run across my legs just thinking about how hard it was. Looking at his face, he was a little flushed. He must’ve been really pent up after the journey on the caravan, and admittedly, so was I. After realizing what kind of situation he was in, he covered up his lower half with the bed sheets. He was still erect to the point where you could see his genitals making a tent with the sheets. I couldn’t help but keep looking at it.

“Oh man, this is so embarrassing.” His face went completely red to his ears. Without really thinking, I walked up towards him and sat down on the bed.

”I guess you need some help, don’t you?”

”Help? N-No, it's fine..."

I moved closer to him. "Is it alright if I were to touch you?"

"O-Oh, um... Sure...?"

I put my hand just underneath his shirt. He sat there, kind of confused.

I couldn't help but move towards his lips. By the time I closed the distance, he pulled me right into his arms. 

The tip of his hardened member was pressing right across the lower end of my abdomen. Just like that, my lips were right against his. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. After such a long time, I was finally getting some alone time with him.

He traced his way across to the area between my legs, putting his hand down my stockings and underwear. I grinded against his hand without much conscious thought. My mind was starting to lose any structure in thought as he massaged my body. I couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

"Mmm... Zeke..."

The sounds of the crickets whistled throughout the night, and from his room, you could hear the waterwheel turning over and over.

”Wow, you’re soaking wet down there. Would you mind if I drank some of it? I’m feeling really thirsty right now...”

“Um..” my face became completely red at his proposition. “You want to lick me down there?”

”I just want you to sit on my face. You have no idea how excited that would get me.”

Surprised, I moved away. I did wash myself earlier today, so it wouldn't be an issue, but for him to have his mouth down there? It was a little surprising to hear he was interested in that. Nevertheless, he pulled off the underwear and I got on top of him, making sure I didn't suffocate him to death.

"Um, is this really okay?" I asked awkwardly.

He pulled me in closer and started to lap up all of my juices.

"Aaah!" I screamed.

"Shh... If someone hears, this won't end well for the both of us. Besides, I'm really hungry," he scolded.

He really got into it, possibly more than I was imagining. His face was pressing right against my pussy. The sounds of his tongue slurping up everything made me feel so aroused. My toes squirmed a little, and I pressed harder against his face. Everything suddenly started to spin, and my vision became a little blurry. Intense waves of pleasure filled my body. 

Instinctively, I got up from him. I didn't want to crush him anymore.

"O-Oh, you're done already?"

I nodded sheepishly. My legs were still pulsing a little.

Zeke looked at me, and then quickly averted his gaze. I put my fingers to his cheeks and they were burning. Just then, he pulled me right in and pressed his lips to mine. It was a little interesting to taste my own fluid, but it didn't bother me.

"Zeke..."

"I want to be inside of you. Please, Ania..."

"Mmm..." I nodded my head at his proposition, and he pulled the bed sheets over me.

His penis touched my abdomen. I felt it was hard and pulsating.

"Sorry.."

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked.

"You got some of my own juice on you."

"No, it's fine."

That night, we ended up going all the way.

—————

The next morning, I realized I was somewhere unfamiliar. The moonlight shone through the window near the corner. I could hear the sounds of water splashing and of wood turning.

There was a large mahogany drawer off to the corner with a pile of letters stacked on top of it. As my consciousness was returning to me, I looked beside me. A man without a shirt was lying down right beside me. His auburn hair was ruffled all over his face like a mop, to be honest. Looking more closely, he probably wasn’t wearing any pants either.

It was then that I realized that I wasn’t wearing any clothes either. “Oh my god,” I whispered to myself.

The bedsheets just barely rustled, and I realized that I probably woke him up by accident.

”Ahh..”

”Oh, good morning. Sleep well?” He asked, reaching out for my cheek.

”Zeke, I should really be getting home,” I whispered back. I had a feeling that his whole family already saw me, which made me feel anxious to step outside.

He pulled me into his arms and left a peck on my lips. “Do you really have to go on the caravan this year? Surely you can take a break.”

I felt a lump develop in my throat. “I don’t think I can stay, I already said I was going.”

”This arm really was going to heal a lot faster with you around.”

“How so?” I asked.

”You give me morale, that’s why. I really do need you here.”

”Zeke... I promise I’ll be back for you.”

”I hope you keep to that promise,” he replied as he cupped my cheeks in his hands. While his hands were rough, they were incredibly warm. I gave him one more kiss before I put on my clothes and walked over the window.

”Wait, is that really all that safe?! Don’t be stupid! I don’t want you to be injured too”

I looked down, and there seemed to be a scalable wall. Even if I did fall, it probably would only mean a few bruises.

”Don’t worry so much Zeke, focus on your own recovery for now. Sayonara!”

I climbed out of the window, hoping to make a safe landing to the ground.

—————

Suddenly, the rustling of the doorknob resulted in someone opening up the door. “Zeke? Why are you naked...? Also, why is your window open?!”

“Welsh, it’s fine. I was just feeling really hot, so I took off my clothes and wanted to air out the room”

”That’s way too fishy. You sure you didn’t bring home a girl now?” Welsh replied.


End file.
